Gendered histories: garment production and migration in Mexico.

Data gathered in Aguascalientes during the 1990s are used to analyze how the garment industry in Mexico has responded to economic recession and trade liberalization. In particular, the relationship between industrial change and gendered patterns of migration are explored. The author concludes that "migration over recent years has increasingly allowed working women the possibility of entering a transnational labour force and given them important labouring and living experiences on both sides of the border."

Determinants of employment of recently arrived Mexican immigrant wives.

PIP: The work force participation of married, Mexican-origin immigrant women who came to the US in the 1980s was investigated. Determinants of employment utilized in this study are the women's human capital stock, household resources, and labor market structural factors. Nine hypotheses were derived from the analytical model and were examined through logistic regression. Findings showed that all human capital resource and structural labor market factors were significantly related to employment. On the other hand, four of the five family household factors namely: the age and presence of children in the household, husband's income, husband's employment, and non-labor income were significantly related to employment. Furthermore, the positive factors indicating the likelihood of being employed in 1989 for Mexican immigrant wives are: 1) being 25-54 years of age; 2) higher educational levels; 3) speaking fluent English; 4) lower levels of husband's income and non-labor income; 5) employment of husband in 1989; 6) absence of children under age 6 at home; 7) lower non-Hispanic female unemployment rates; 8) higher work force proportion employed in immigrant female-dependent occupations; 9) lower proportions of the Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSA) population being of Mexican origin; and 10) smaller MSA populations.^ieng

Guatemalan women's paper making co-op.

PIP: Founded in 1992, is an independent grassroots organization whose goal is to assist community development, health, education, clean water and income generation. The Q'eqchi' Maya Indians constitute the fourth largest indigenous group located on the banks of Rio Dulce, in the eastern rainforest of Guatemala. Project Ak'Tenamit helped the Q'eqchi' people revive their ancient art of paper making as a viable and self-sustainable source of income. As the material used by the ancient Maya--cork husk and banana stalks--are still abundant, it was decided that this art could be successfully re-introduced. With papermaking, the Q'eqchi women were able to earn money from their own production without even compromising their respective households. Ak'Tenamit was responsible for the distribution of paper making products in stores throughout Guatemala. Although there are still many obstacles confronting these women, the paper making cooperative provides employment opportunities and is indeed a great help to them. They produce a total of 15 different products including bowls, cards, and bookmarks.^ieng

Women and changes in the Chilean economy: some questions.

PIP: The author argues that a new development model that encourages greater participation of women in the work force in domestic piecework, temporary work, and subcontracting may further lead to the exploitation of women in Chile. The importance of women in economic development in Chile should be based on building skills, providing support child care services, reorienting women's education, and tax incentives. Chile over the past decade has achieved relatively stable economic growth and increased employment of women. During 1990-93 the growth of women in the work force increased at a rate of 16.8%, while men's presence increased by only 9.8%. The Chilean economy is based on a sophisticated modern sector and a labor-intensive informal sector. The Chilean model of development relies on cheap, flexible labor and a government approval of this model. Increased participation of women in the labor force is usually perceived as increased economic empowerment. A 1994 Oxfam study found that women were being forced into the labor market due to declines in family income and low wages. 46% of men and women received wages that did not cover basic necessities. The Chilean labor market is gender-stratified. Men are paid better than women for the same work. Men are in more permanent positions. Labor laws are either inadequate or violated, particularly for hours of work and overtime pay and conditions of employment and benefits. Traditional female jobs are those that rely on women's natural attributes. These unskilled attributes are rewarded with low wages. Little opportunity is provided for upgrading skills or acquiring new skills. Some women turn down advancement because of a lack of role models. Women have little opportunity to develop their self-image as workers. Poor self-images affect women's work attitudes and motivation. Some firms use competition between women to boost production. Chilean women remain in subordinate roles.^ieng

[The U.S. census: source for an international history of immigrant women, family, and gender?]. / El censo de los Estados Unidos: ?fuente para una historia internacional de mujeres inmigrantes, familia y genero?

PIP: "The author discusses the fruitful use of nominal lists for a gendered analysis of international migration. [U.S.] studies carried out in the 1970s and 1980s produced interesting information as to female work for wages outside the home, but found the census a flawed source for work done by women within their homes. Combination with other nominal sources [has revealed] the role played by women in the organization and maintenance of kin and neighborhood networks. The approach to the Italian diaspora abroad requires the linkage of different nominal sources at origin and in the different places of destination." (EXCERPT)^ieng

Social context, household composition and employment among migrant and nonmigrant Dominican women.

PIP: It is argued in this article that the social context of ethnic groups may shape employment patterns by immigrant women. This study examines the effects of household composition on the employment patterns among Dominican Republic migrants in New York City and among Dominicans in the Dominican Republic. This study is based on studies by Tienda and Glass and expands household composition groups. The comparison between countries serves as a control for the effects of culture. The inclusion in the US sample of Colombian migrants serves to further reinforce the effects of social context over cultural influences. Data are obtained from the 1981 survey of 528 Colombian and Dominican migrant women aged 20-45 years living in New York City's Queens borough and 50% of Manhattan borough and a 1978 survey of women living in Santo Domingo and Santiago. Women who lived in the Dominican Republic were better educated and more likely to be employed. Over 50% of migrant women in New York received public assistance, and 88% of women receiving public assistance were female heads of households. In the Dominican Republic, the social context did not include the opportunity for receipt of public assistance. 61% of women living in the Dominican Republic and only 50% of migrant women were currently married. Female headship was 36.8% in the US and 11.8% abroad. Twice as many households abroad included other adult family members. These findings illustrate the importance of social context and household composition in explaining female immigrant employment. Dominican women living in New York with children and without a spouse were less likely to be employed than women with spouses or women without spouses or children. In the Dominican Republic, women with spouses or adult men in the household were less likely to work. Selective migration was ruled out as an explanatory factor.^ieng

Childcare needs of female street vendors in Mexico City.

This article reports on strategies developed by female street vendors (vendedoras ambulantes) in Mexico City to ensure the care of their young children in the absence of a specific and operational government policy to fulfil this need. The information concerning child care and health was gathered by a survey of 426 street traders selected by multi-stage random cluster sampling in four of the administrative districts (delegaciones politicas) of Mexico City during 1990. It was found that, as mothers of young children, street vendors most frequently looked after their children personally on the street or left them with other members of the family. Related factors were availability of alternative child care providers in the family, the age of the children and working conditions of the mother. Children who remained on the streets with their mothers suffered more frequently from gastro-intestinal diseases and accidents than the national average. The incidence of acute respiratory diseases, however, was similar in the cases of maternal care in the street and care by family members in another environment. Existing public health measures show a greater concern for the health of food consumers than that of workers in this area. Current public policy seeks to regulate street vending activities and to concentrate traders in ad hoc areas and facilities. Our research results document the need for actions that can contribute to an improvement in the care and health conditions of these young children.

PIP: Informal street trading has expanded to a greater extent in Mexico City than anywhere else in the rest of the country. Women are increasingly involved in this activity. However, individuals working in the informal sector are not covered by social security, and thus lack access to medical services. Mothers working in the informal sector lack access to day care centers for their children. This paper explains how female street vendors in Mexico City care for their children under age 3 years. 426 street traders randomly selected in four administrative districts in 1990 were surveyed. These mothers most often looked after their young children personally on the street or left them with other family members. Related factors were the availability of alternative child care providers in the family, the age of the children, and the working conditions of the mother. Children who remained on the streets with their mothers more frequently experienced gastrointestinal diseases and accidents than the national average. The incidence of acute respiratory diseases, however, was similar in the cases of maternal care in the street and care by family members in another environment. Existing public health measures show a greater concern for the health of food consumers than that of workers in the area. Current public policy seeks to regulate street vending activities and to concentrate traders in ad hoc areas and facilities.

Education, work and earnings of Peruvian women.

PIP: This study describes trends in educational attainment among women in Peru, and examines the determinants of educational attainment, labor force participation and employment, and earnings. Data were obtained from the Peruvian Living Standards Survey among a sample of 5644 women aged 20-59 years. Findings indicate that parents' educational variables had a positive and statistically significant relationship with the educational attainment of their daughters. The impact declined over time from older to younger cohorts. School reforms improved women's access to education. Education became more universal and compulsory over time. Daughters of mothers with white collar occupations had higher levels of schooling than farmers' daughters. The effects of fathers' education was larger. There was a wider gap between farmers and nonfarmers. Textbooks, teachers, and number of grades offered were the only primary school inputs that showed any clear cohort trend in their effect on years of schooling. As primary schools became more available, textbooks had a greater impact on school attainment. The impact of textbooks was larger for women than for men. The number of grades offered had a large positive effect which increased across cohorts from older to younger. Findings suggest weak effects of school reforms on women's likelihood of participating in the paid or unpaid labor force. Years of schooling had a very small and negative effect on total labor force participation. Woman's paid employment was influenced by age, education and training, household characteristics, and family's unearned income. Educational attainment had a small positive effect on participation in paid employment for younger women and no effect for older women. The average rate of return in paid employment to primary education was about 12%. Primary education had the highest rate of return. The return to job tenure was higher for younger women.^ieng

[Women and work. Panorama in Latin America 1960-1990]. / Mujer y trabajo. Panorama en America Latina 1960-1990.

PIP: Significant increases have occurred over the past 40 years in the labor force participation of Latin American women. The changes have been caused primarily by transformations in the economic system, but also in part by changes of attitude regarding the role of women in economic development and household survival. Average female labor force participation rates are difficult to compare over time and between countries because of differing cultural patterns concerning work, use of differing concepts of productive work and labor force, and different time periods of coverage. Some common trends can be observed in labor force participation despite the data limitations. A decline occurred in overall participation rates, at least until 1980, while female participation rates increased continually over the entire period. Several factors have been suggested to explain the overall decline, among them longer school attendance by young people. The Latin American Economic Commission classified Latin American countries into four groups according to their level of economic and social modernization. The role of women in the labor market and in domestic work is associated with the level of modernization. In all four groups, female activity rates have systematically increased in all countries. The distribution of women in the different productive sectors varied in the four groups. The two most developed groups concentrate a large part of the urban population, and in these groups the increase in female economic participation has been most pronounced. Establishment of maquiladora industries has been particularly associated with growth of female labor force participation in the past 15 years. The work of maquiladoras is associated with such problems of the informal sector as poor hygiene and exploitation. The informal sector is known to have grown considerably and to have permitted survival of many families during the economic crisis of the 1980s, but sufficient data is not yet available to gauge its true size.^ieng

Values under seige in Mexico: strategies for sheltering traditional values from change.

PIP: The adverse economic conditions of inflation and falling oil prices over the late 1970s and 1980s in Mexico forced many middle-class married women out of the home and into the workplace in order to help the family maintain its socioeconomic standing. Although this phenomenon ran directly against the traditional Mexican cultural construction of gender and family, many Uruapan middle-class couples had no alternative and rationalized the change by concealing, reinterpreting, or not directly challenging traditional values. Sections discuss the dilemma of middle-class families, Mexican middle-class adaptation to wives' employment, strategies for existing change in values, and the open acceptance of changed values. The author's comments and conclusions are based largely upon interviews with 16 married women of the period. It is concluded that even though the middle class resists them, changes have taken place over the past 20 years in the acceptance of married women in the workplace, the sharing of domestic work, fertility control, and equality between spouses in family decision making. It remains to be seen, however, whether these women will stop working and return to their formerly exclusive roles of wives and mothers if and when economic conditions improve in Mexico.^ieng

[Fertility decline and female labor force participation in Mexico]. / Descenso de la fecundidad y participacion laboral femenina en Mexico.

PIP: Data from the 1976 Mexican Fertility survey and the 1987 National survey of Fertility and Health are the basis for an analysis of the relationship between the fertility decline and female labor force participation in Mexico. The two surveys provide relatively comparable data on economic activity at the time of the interview, before the first union, and before the first birth. Other data on female labor force participation in Mexico is scarce and does not usually consider the relationship to fertility. The characteristics of Mexico's fertility decline and the evolution of female labor force participation are separately examined as background for the analysis of the effect of fertility decline on economic activity. Mexican fertiity remained elevated until around 1970, when the rapid and significant decline began. The total fertility rate dropped from 6.8 in 1970 to 3.8 in 1986, a 44% decline in 16 years. Urban women born in 1942-47 were the first to limit their family size and terminate childbearing at younger ages. Little recent variation has occurred in the age at marriage or at birth of the first child. But place of residence and educational status are associated with significant differentials in age at marriage and initiation of childbearing. The greatest changes in patterns of family formation have occurred in final family size and age at termination of childbearing. The proportion of Mexican women over age 12 who declared themselves economically active increased from 13% in 1950 to 32% in 1988. After 1970, the greatest fertility declines were in women over 30, while the greatest increases in economic activity were in young women; only during 1982-87 did participation increase for women aged 30-44. Activity rates have increased constantly beginning with the 1942-47 cohorts. The increase for the 1942-47 cohort began after age 35, when over half the women had had their last child. Women born in 1947-52 began to increase their participation at 30-34 years, but their increase was even greater at 35-39 years. Women born in 1952-57 demonstrated an important increase in participation at 25-29 years and especially at 30-34 years. An increasing proportion of women in the youngest cohorts have been able to begin their families and participate in the labor force simultaneously. Women who worked before marriage or at early stages of family formation are particularly likely to reenter the labor force.^ieng

[Labor trajectories and reproductive behavior: a comparison between Mexico and Spain]. / Trayectorias laborales y reproductivas: una comparacion entre Mexico y Espana.

PIP: Data from the 1987 Mexican National Survey of Fertility and Health and the fertility survey carried out by Spain's National Institute of Statistics in 1985 were the basis for a comparison of the fertility histories and labor force participation of women of different cohorts in the two countries. Both surveys included questions on employment before marriage, between marriage and the birth of the first child, and at the present time. Eight combinations were possible, including continuous employment in all three periods and no history of employment in any period. The survey populations included women ever married or in union, with at least one live-born child, and aged between 15 and 49 years for Mexico and 18 and 49 years in Spain. Economic conditions in Mexico and Spain are dissimilar, and women's labor force participation patterns have varied as well. The Mexican survey indicated a current labor force participation rate of 37% for women aged 20-49. 42% of women aged 30-39 were employed. In Spain, 43% of women aged 18-49 were economically active. Around 60% of widowed, divorced, separated, and single women were employed. In Mexico, 38.2% of respondents had not worked in any of the three periods, 20.4% had worked in all three, and 17/7% had worked only before the first marriage or union. 61.5% of Mexican respondents had worked in at least one of the three periods. The cohort born in 1957-61 appears to be transitional to a pattern in which work outside the home assumes greater importance. In Spain, 31.3% of respondents had worked only before the first marriage or union, 24.8% had never worked, and 23.7% had worked in all three periods. 75.2% had worked in at least one of the three periods. The older Spanish cohorts had lower rates of labor force participation and the younger cohorts tendered to have higher activity rates, combining motherhood and outside employment to a greater extent. The cohort aged 25-29 at the time of the survey, which had a high proportion of women working continuously in the three periods and an intense activity rate at the time of the survey, appeared to be the transitional cohort between traditional and modern lifestyles. Thus, in both countries the cohorts aged 25-29 were those which managed to combine childbearing with employment to the greatest extent. In both Mexico and Spain,, the women within the cohort aged 25-29 with the highest activity rates were those with higher levels of education and those living in larger cities.^ieng

Birth order effects and time allocation.

"In this paper, a model is developed in which the explanation for birth-order effects does not rely on absence of capital markets, but follows from optimal allocation of parental time and goods among children over the childrearing years. The model yields two key results, which are then tested using 1967-1968 household survey data from urban Colombia.... It is shown that first and last-born children of mothers who do not work have an advantage over middle-borns.... At the same time, as predicted, there are no differences by birth order among children of working mothers. The persistence of birth-order effects even in high-income families indicates that such effects are at least in part due to the time constraint modelled; this is a strong result given the possibility of better substitutes for mother's time than allowed for in the model, and the likelihood that high-income families are able to purchase better substitutes."

[Work, fertility, and the status of women in Mexico]. / Trabajo, fecundidad y condicion femenina en Mexico.

PIP: Among the major transformations affecting Mexican women in recent decades were their growing participation in the labor market and the fertility decline that began in the 1970s with widespread access to contraception. Data from 3 major Mexican fertility surveys, employment surveys, and censuses are used to analyze changes in female employment and their determinants during the years of economic recession in the 1980s. The main characteristics of the Mexican fertility decline are described, and the relationship between fertility and female employment before and during the economic recession is scrutinized for different social sectors. Suggestions for research on the affects of these changes on the social condition of Mexican women are then presented. The proportions of Mexican women over 12 years old who declared themselves economically active increased from 16% in 1970 to 21% in 1979 and 32% in 1987. Until the 1970s the majority of employed women were young and single or childless. But a clear increase occurred between 1976-87 in the economic participation of older women in union. Economic participation of low income and less educated women increased as they sought work or created their own in response to deteriorating living conditions during the recession. Young women with intermediate or higher educational levels did not increase their relative presence in the labor market in the same period. The marked increase in economic participation of less educated women in union with small children was accompanied by a significant increase in manual occupations. Between 1982-87, the proportion of women aged 20-49 in nonsalaried manual occupations rose from 7.6% to 18.5%. Mexico's fertility decline has been well documented. The total fertility rate declined from 6.3 in 1973 to 3.8 in 1986, while the percentage of women in union using a contraceptive method increased from 30.2 in 1976 to 52.7 in 1987. Fertility differentials have been declining but are still considerable. The inhibitory influence of children on female labor force participation in Mexico is clear, but in the years of economic recession the most notable increase in female workers was in women with 3 or more children of whom the youngest was under 3. It appears that the influence of children on women's employment depends on the socioeconomic status of the woman as well as on the dynamism or sluggishness of the labor market. Research is needed on the significance of changes in fertility and female employment for women's status in Mexico. Several recent works have presented results of microsocial analyses of the ways in which women experience changes in their lives resulting from fertility and employment decisions. A methodological strategy for studying these changes and their influence on women's status should focus on comparisons between different generations and birth cohorts, different types of employment, and different socioeconomic statuses. Both macrosocial and microsocial forms of analysis are needed to provide a full picture.^ieng

Between hearth and labor market: the recruitment of peasant women in the Andes.

PIP: To cover subsistence requirements, peasant women from the Peruvian Andes increasingly are being forced to engage in income-generating activities, including domestic service, marketing, manufacturing, and herding. In many cases, recruitment into waged labor involves migration from rural communities. Case studies of the placement of peasant women in external labor markets illustrate the complex micro- and macro-level factors that determine the mix of productive and reproductive labor. The sexual division of labor in the domestic economy and community is the critical in regulating the length of absence of peasant women from the home, the types of jobs taken, and the migratory destination. In 1 such case study, 56 women from the village of Kallarayan (all of whom had migrated at some point) were interviewed during 13 months of fieldwork in 1984-85. There is no paid employment in Kallarayan, so 14% of the village's population is involved in migration to urban areas or commercial agricultural areas in jungle valleys at any point. Male migration is high in the 11-40-year age group, but becomes seasonal once men marry. Female migrants tend to remain away from the village for longer periods, but are almost exclusively single. Recruitment of peasant women into paid labor is achieved by 5 types of agents: family, godparents and friends, authority figures, recruiting agents, and employers. Peasant girls under 15 years of age tend to be allocated to external labor markets (largely domestic services) by parents and godparents; after 15 years, however, when children are considered to reach adulthood, there is a shift toward self-motivated migration or recruitment by employers and agents. The eldest daughter typically enters migration at age 14 years and sacrifices her education, while younger siblings remain in the home longer. In all but the poorest families, female migration for waged labor ends with marriage.^ieng

[Changes in the status of women]. / Cambios en la condicion de las mujeres.

PIP: Information from a diversity of sources indicates that the roles and status of women underwent changes of unsuspected magnitude in the 1980s. Trends observed in different social realms at different time periods appear to have converged, leading to redefinition of the activities and life courses of large sectors of the Mexican female population. The life expectancy of Mexican women is 71 years, the average age at marriage is 21 years, and the average family size is 3.8 children. Women migrate to other areas of Mexico and other countries. Their illiteracy rate declined by 9.5% between 1970 and 1980 to 20.1% over age 15, or 7.8% for women aged 15-19. In 1986, an estimated 15.3% of women aged 15-49 were illiterate, 26.9% had incomplete primary, 19.7% had complete primary, and 38.1% had secondary or higher. Educational statistics demonstrate strong and increasing female enrollments. The trend to greater female employment continued in the 1980s, with married women and mothers moving into the work force in great numbers. Increased job opportunities and declining family incomes were among factors encouraging female employment. Women continued to perform most of the domestic work, however. Reduced social spending and subsidies for basic goods led to a return to households of responsibilities and expenditures previously covered by the government. Women appear to have massively penetrated traditional male spheres of society, raising questions about the reactions of males and the completion of functions previously assumed by women.^ieng

Breast-feeding determinants in Chile.

PIP: In Chile in low income populations, research shows that the longer infants breast feed the lower the incidence of malnutrition (p.05) in these infants. Yet mothers with 9 years of formal education and often members of the low income group are at the highest risk of giving birth to infants 3000 g who are at highest risk of death. Indeed, it is among these groups that infant malnutrition rates are the highest. Therefore, to reduce infant mortality in these groups, more women should breast feed longer. Other determinants of women choosing to not breast feed or not breast feeding for a long period of time in Chile include work, poor nutritional status, smoking, and poor health team attitudes and practices. To counteract the negative trend in breast feeding and thereby increase the duration of breast feeding in low income mothers in Chile, the Ministry of Health (MOH) initiated its National Program for Breast-feeding Promotion (NPBP) in 1980. The educational component included training primary health care and maternity hospital health teams and distribution of educational brochures to pregnant women. If pregnant women weighed less than what the new 1980 standard recommended, they received nutritional supplements as part of the Supplementary Food Program (SPF). A study revealed that in an area where pregnant mothers received educational materials and support from the health team and food supplements, the proportion of 6 month olds exclusively breast fed rose 61.4% (p.001) in 2 years while it rose 40.7% in the area where only the SPF had been implemented. In Santiago, the percentage of breast fed 3 month olds also increased after introduction of NPBP (46%-63% [1977-1982]). The Ministries of Education and Labor could also contribute to healthier babies by preparing a family life curriculum and sponsoring legislation to extend maternity leave for working mothers.^ieng

Act No. 61, 29 September 1987.

This Act amends Article 10 of Act No. 1263 of 1974 to double to $20.00 (pesos) the lowest amount of maternity allowance that a worker can receive per week in Cuba.

Decree No. 18729-J of 25 October 1988.

This Decree authorizes the association "Credimujer" to be inscribed in the Register of Associations of Costa Rica. Among the objectives of the "Credimujer" are the integration of women into the social and economic development of Costa Rica, improvement of the social and economic position of women, support of businesses run by women and business activities carried out by women, creation of opportunities for women to obtain credit, promotion of women in managerial positions, just remuneration for women, and contributions to the growth of businesses of which women are the beneficiaries.

The incorporation of Mexican women in seasonal migration: a study of gender differences.

"This article compares sex differences in migratory behaviors, work patterns and conjugal relations in a cohort of male and female immigrants who move seasonally between Mexico and the United States. Gender comparisons are made using survey data and information from in-depth group interviews. The findings indicate that among Mexicans immigration to the United States reinstates men's traditional roles as providers while making women assume non-traditional roles. Female role expansion, through employment in the U.S., strongly influences conjugal relations in the direction of more equality. In contrast, failure to enter the American labor force implies a role restriction resulting in a loss of autonomy for many immigrant women." (SUMMARY IN SPA)